Sen. Bob Menendez announced today that he will not be seeking reelection but he still refuses to resign.

Embattled New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez will not run for re-election in November, although he still refuses to hand in his resignation, The Post has learned.

“He will not be running,” a source close to the 70-year-old three-term senator told The Post...

In an interview with Forbes published Thursday Menendez said he would not resign, but when asked if he would be running for re-election, he said, “Ah, that’s another question.”

Here's the brief clip of Menendez from earlier today.

This announcement comes after new obstruction of justice charges were brought against Menendez and his wife on Tuesday.

Prosecutors accused the couple of trying to cover up a bribe by making it look like a loan.

In the process, they lied to their own lawyers, who in turn inadvertently misrepresented the arrangement to federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York, according to the updated indictment...

The indictment comes just days after a fifth defendant, Jose Uribe, a former New Jersey insurance broker, pleaded guilty to trying to bribe the couple with a Mercedes-Benz and agreed to cooperate with the government’s investigation...

Mr. Menendez, in a statement issued through his lawyers, called the new indictment “a flagrant abuse of power.”

Sen. Menendez is set to go to trial on all of the charges on May 6. He and his wife have pleaded not guilty to all charges. And that brings us to the real reason he is not running for office again. Polls show an overwhelming number of New Jersey voters already think he's guilty. 

Seventy-five percent of residents think Menendez is probably guilty, while just 5 percent think he’s probably not guilty, according to the Monmouth University poll of 801 New Jersey adults. Menendez’s approval rating among registered voters stands at just 16 percent — his lowest ever recorded in a Monmouth poll. Sixty-three percent said he should resign...

The poll was conducted just before a grand jury returned a third superseding indictment against the senator that hit him with 12 new criminal counts but included few new allegations. Eighty-nine percent of residents have heard at least a little about the allegations, according to the poll...

“Perhaps the stash of gold bars is a little too much to stomach. Or maybe it’s simply one corruption trial too many. In any event, New Jerseyans say they have had enough and it’s time for Menendez to go,” said pollster Patrick Murray.

He could run but he has zero chance of winning the primary which takes place on June 4, less than a month after the start of his trial. Recent polls show two other primary candidates, Andy Kim and Tammy Murphy, leading the race. So this step was inevitable.

At this point the only reason I can see why Menendez is refusing to resign. Does he think it might be seen as some kind of admission of guilt if he did so prior to his trial? But again, that ship has already sailed. Most people in his state already think he's guilty. Hanging on to his office for a few more months isn't going to help him. Here's Sen. Fetterman's reaction.

Bob Menendez defiant after third indictment and tells me “no” he will NOT resign
Asked if he will run for reelection, he said: “That’s a different question.”

Fetterman calls Menendez a “sleazeball” pic.twitter.com/vENVDptlTj

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 7, 2024